The Scarlet Dress
by mrpresidentnickjonas
Summary: Everyone knew the outcome of their life. Nick and Joseph were to avoid piracy. Lynn was to live at Fort Atkin and Rose was to find new love. But, when adventure, romance, and mystery all intertwine, their future will never be the same.**May become M later
1. Chapter 1

The Conquest's snow-white sails billowed in the Caribbean wind as I made my way down the stony path from my home. The crystal blue waters glistened in the morning's first light and my multiple skirts collected the drops of dew from the tall native grasses. I loved being away from the isolation of London. I may be on an island, but at least I'm away from the drama of the city life and formal manners of the dinner table.

The small trading town of Fort Atkin had existed for fifty years before I even arrived. It was one of the first British settlements in the Caribbean. Traders from all over Europe would come for the island riches of gold and silver and tropical goods. My father finally brought me here a year ago and I haven't been happier since. My father was not a wealthy man, but we were not poor either. He had gone on expeditions to this island ever since he was a boy and, finally, he settled us in a small cottage on a ridge above the town. Sadly, he passed away from heart failure shortly after his arrival. My mother died during childbirth so had been only him and me before he was gone. Now I am alone. Well not exactly. I now live in the same cottage with my bloodhound, Katrina, and my best friend from London, Rosalie. Rose for short. Her parents were back in London. Her family was one of the richest in England.

It was a month ago when she arrived. It was a surprise for me and so sudden. I didn't even receive a letter announcing her arrival. It was a stormy day. The great palms beside the cottages moved to and fro to the point of almost breaking. Rain pattered on the roof and I lie in bed not able to sleep from the weather. I pulled back the covers and lit the lantern on my nightstand. I walked on the cold, wooden ground and walked with difficulty in the darkness over to my father's old desk. It still had his old letters to the governor and to the trading company. His eyeglasses were beside the ink well and I grabbed the key beside them and opened the drawer. I turned the key and with a 'click' it popped open. I brought out his prized quill given to him by the king himself and dabbed it lightly into the ink. I strained my eyes to see in the dim light and looked at the blank paper in front of me. It was a light brown color and creased at the edges from years of no use. I wiped of the thin layer of dust and touched the quill's point to the paper:

My dearest friend Rose,

I do wish you would visit me soon. It will be a long voyage but I cannot seem to afford to see you. It's been a year too many since our last meeting. Please consider this letter. I love you and hope to see you soon.

With love,

Lynn

As I reread the letter too many times, the sun rose in the east. The first rays of sunshine welcomed a cloudless sky. I got up from the old wooden chair and walked over to the window above my bed. I stood up on it and looked out at the landscape, holding onto the windowsill for support. My eyes wandered down to the town and to the ship landing. The normal ships were arriving to pick up gunpowder and our island treats. I saw the redcoats lining up and walking in unison by the harbor with their bayonets and full military uniform on. This was not unusual. They wore these everyday incase there was any attack of some sort. I looked at the horizon that welcomed the morning sun and saw a triangle shape growing into larger black shape in the distance. I got curious. Usually ships didn't arrive until later in the afternoon or early in the morning. After several minutes watching the silhouette grow slowly, it appeared. Its vast sails billowed in the tropical breeze and by it's flag, I knew it was my own. There was a familiar boy in the crow's nest. Where did I remember him? He wore a tattered white shirt and brown pants with boots. A hat covered his brown curly hair.

I screamed to myself in the cottage, "Nick! Nicholas!"

Katrina lifted her head in surprise. I had woken her from a deep sleep. Despite my clothes, I stepped out onto the miniscule porch and ran barefoot down the grasses and through the town. It wasn't awake yet. Only the trade workers were unloading goods necessary for us to survive here. I jumped over the barrels and sacks of flour and reached the dock. My wavy, strawberry hair flew into my face in tangles and I lifted my nightgown. I was eager with excitement. I few men looked at me with suspicion but resumed working after a brief stare. I turned a corner and passed multiple boats, dinghies, and ships. The ship I was aiming for docked right when I arrived. My bare feet burned from the rotting wood rubbing against them as I came to a halt. I let my nightgown fall to the floor and I moved my hair from my face and put it behind my ear. My heart beat inside my ears.

I hadn't seen Nicholas since I was a child. He climbed the netting down from the crow's nest as a spider would. Oh how he had grown. He was practically a man. He was my best friend until he moved to Italy with his family. We could never keep in touch because his father prohibited it. I never understood why. I loved him as my own brother. I missed him more than anything once I saw him.

He dropped to the deck and pulled his hat off and ran his hands through his curls. He was no longer the boy I knew. He was muscular now and looked like you wouldn't' want to pick a fight with him. He was much more handsome, too.

I didn't know what to do. Should I run and embrace him? Should I wait until he is off the boat? These thoughts ran through my mind and I got dizzy with so many thoughts. I got on my toes and looked over the deck and then peaked over towards his way. There was a girl beside him facing the other way. Her hair was in a loose bun with a white ribbon and she wore an elaborate lace dress of the latest fashion of London. Nick walked over to her and started conversing. I got curious and stepped onto a ramp leading into the ship. It creaked as I walked slowly up it.

"…she will be so surprised to see that you have come!" Nick smiled and said to the girl.

"Yeah it's been a while. She'll need a good friend." I recognized the girl's voice.

"Rose! Rose!" I hollered at the top of my lungs and got up from my crouch position but tripped on the hem of my gown and fell into a pile of sacks mark "rice". Rose turned around and then put her hand over her mouth and started laughing hysterically. Nicholas was holding in the laughter. I wonder if he recognized me.

"I've come to stay with you because my parents have kicked me out and look at the introduction!" She walked over and offered me a hand. I took it graciously and she hugged me. It was nice to be in her presence again. I had missed her manner. She looked rich, but she sure didn't act it.

"You won't believe it. I was just writing a letter to you this morning pleading you to visit. So it's for sure? I mean you staying?"

"Yes! I have missed you so much. This boy has been talking to me all about the secrets of Italy ever since the journey began! He really is nice. I'm sure you two will get along quite well I suppose." He walked over to us and put out his hand.

"I'm Nicholas Wilson." I took it graciously gazing into his hazel eyes.

"Lynn Smith." His eyes got big. They were gorgeous.

"Lynn? Is it really you?" He let go of my hand and started jumping up and down like a child on Christmas Day awaiting unopened presents. He looked like a dork but I couldn't actually tell him that. He clasped both his hands around mine this time and I just stared. I think Rose was catching what was going on in our teenage minds.

She put his right hand onto ours, "I think I better be getting to where I'm staying don't you think?" When we didn't answer she looked back and forth at our faces and rolled her hazel eyes.

"Hello? Hello!" I snapped out of the hypnotism and Nick did as well. He walked over to a tangle of ropes and started untying them. Although he was a few paces away, he listened intently to our words. I embraced Rose in another hug.

"Oh, how I've missed you!" she said. "We better get you dressed into some decent clothing before anything else though. She chuckled and looked up and down at my nightgown and bare feet. I bit my lip and crossed my thin arms over my small chest. A breeze caught my tangled hair and I shivered from the crisp morning air.

"Nicholas," My eyes got wide with glee when she said his name. He looked up from his task and looked in our direction. "I would like to see you two meet up before you head back to Italy. I mean after that many years of separation, you are probably anxious to find out what became of each other. Am I correct?"

He put his hands in his pockets and said, "Well, you see, I think Lynn and I will have plenty of time to reconnect our friendship."

I tilted my head in confusion and tightened my crossed arms. He continued, "I won't be returning to Italy. I decided I needed to be away from it all and take up residence here in Fort Atkin as a blacksmith." Sounded exactly like my situation.

Rose got eager with excitement for me, "Eeep! Now Lynn and I will have a buddy! No more lonely days for you, right Lynn?"

She turned her gaze to me and I replied nervously, "Yeah…Well I better get back home to feed Katrina." The truth was that I was more than excited. I was ecstatic. I had loved Rose and Nicholas as my best friends even when I had thought I had lost them forever. How this remarkable and coincidental set up came to be I will never know.

Rose grabbed my hand, "You still have that pup?"

I nodded and smiled to Nicholas 'goodbye' as she pulled me off the boat's deck. He took a hand out of his pocket and waved and watched us walk away. That very moment my dull life had become all the more interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

I strolled my way through the bustling morning crowd of venders and shoppers and walked under the archway that led to the less busy side of town. It was barren actually. Not a soul was in sight. My only companion was a sewer rat that scampered toward an abandoned apple core, brown from air, and rotting on the floor beside a doorway. Above hung a wooden sign marked 'Blacksmith' and I knew I had to be in the right place. It was the only blacksmith's shop around for hundreds of miles. I hesitantly pushed open the wooden planked door. It opened with a long creek from over fifty years of use. There was a lack of light inside. It smelled musky dust and gunpowder. A dim lantern hung on a hook beside the door and a fire's bright orange coals cast dancing shadows in its corner fireplace.

"Hello? Nick are you here?" I always used to call him informally 'Nick' when we were kids so it stuck. After ten seconds of silence, a clanging noise came from another room in the back. Under the door came an orange glow. I pushed it open and peeked in not knowing who or what to expect. He stood by a table with an unfinished sword in his left hand and a hammer in the other. He bent the sword into shape with so much ease that he made it look like an art. It was amazing how good he was at only 17 years of age. His long, brown curls fell into his eyes and his muscular forearms glistened in the fire's glow. He looked up suddenly, frightening me, making me jump and put my hand to my chest.

"Lynn," he let out a huge smile and put down his work. He walked over to me with long strides and took me into his arms. He smelled like sweat and smoke. That didn't stop me from hugging him though. He released his grip from my back and smiled again.

"I was just finishing. Let me just put away my tools." He held up his index finger signaling me to wait and I watched him turn around and throw the hammer into a basket on the floor and put the sword back into the coals.

"Okay, let's go." He grabbed my hand and we walked out of the back room and he nearly dragged me. My high heels collected the dirt and I was becoming angry. He grabbed his feather hat off its hook and put it on top of his curly hair matted with sweat. He rolled up his sleeves and let go of my arm for half a second. We walked out of the blacksmith shop and I took in a deep breath of fresh ocean air. I expected us to go back into town to go shop for food since he lived with Rose and I in the cottage since it was the only place to go for shelter, but he turned left instead and headed down the alley and towards the beach.

"Nick! Where are we going? I'm half starved! We need to buy food. Rose will be mad if we're not back soon either. You know how she can act up."

He smiled, "Oh, please, we'll have plenty of time to get food but you have to come see this."

I had been here longer then he had by far but I still was clueless as to where he was taking me and what we were going to see. We came out of the rows of stone buildings and walked past the gallows. They had always terrified me. The two nooses moved ghostly in the breeze. I hadn't realized I had stopped and stared at them, but Nick stopped and gazed at them as well. He took off his large hat and put it to his chest and bowed.

"May the pirates that ever choose to come to this island beware."

I looked at him and he put his hat back on hurriedly. We were on the beach now and I could see my small cottage on the cliff above the sea. The waves crashed against the black rocks and a couple native pelicans flew low over the crystal blue waters in search of dinner. My heels were digging into the sand and I couldn't keep up with Nick so I made him stop so I could take them off. I reached under my dress and brought my ankle up but managed to fall back into the sand.

"Oh, my gosh. I'm terrible." I laughed and he warmly smiled, obviously amused, and extended his hand. I took it graciously and got my balance back. I took off the other shoe and put them between my fingers. The sun slowly went down. At the time of sunset we reached a rock I had never seen before. It was beside the sea but on the other side of our small island. Its features were dark and almost mysterious. He led me behind it and to an entrance to a cave. Water dripped from the ceiling and small waves moved in and out of the opening. I tiptoed through the warm waters and he grabbed my hand because the light was running out. Then there was only black.

"Nick…" "Shh! You can't tell anyone where I'm taking you."

What could possibly be so secretive about a cave? Nick hadn't even been here before, had he? He must've been here before because he was leading me through it like it was completely illuminated. I jumped when I heard a crab or two scatter behind a stone. His pace was steadily increasing and I had to jog to keep up with him. His sweaty grip on my hand tightened.

Up ahead I could see a blue light. It looked like the mouth of the cave. When we approached it, I saw it was the mouth of a cave after all. It was much more incredible. It was a rounded room carved into the rock and the light came from an inch wide hole in the ceiling. I inspected the hole seeing how it could possibly bring that much light into the room at sunset. I saw around the sides was a mirror-like rock, probably volcanic, that reflected the light to all sides of the room. I was so amazed by how the room was lit that I didn't even examine the rest. On the sandy floor were at least twelve crates marked 'salt' or 'gunpowder'.

"Nick I don't understand. Why did you bring me here?"

"Okay you promise not to tell anybody? Not even Rosalie?"

I wondered what could be so bad that I couldn't even tell my best friend. I nodded slowly not knowing what I was agreeing to.

"What's the purpose of this room? How did you even know it was here? You haven't even been to this island before, have you?" I started rambling off these questions until he silenced me by pressing his cold index finger against warm lips.

" I told you to be quiet. Now look…" He hesitated before proceeding and took a deep breath. He walked over to one of the crates and picked it up with a grunt. A cloud of dust rose as the weight of the crate was lifted. It rose and you could see each particle through the reflected light. I could tell that it was much darker outside now. Nicholas brought the wooden crate to my feet and dropped it with a 'thud'. It sank down about two inches into the damp sand. It must've weighed a lot, and to have Nick actually struggle with it, yeah it weighed a ton!

"You promise not to scream?"

"Why?" He just stared into my eyes but immediately looked down and pulled the top handle of the box to open it. Before throwing the lid to the ground, he put his hand on my shoulder. An electric current flowed from his touch through my body to my fingertips. I could scarcely breath in my lung-piercing corset. Curse those wretched things. I wish a woman could show off her natural curves by not wearing it. I steadied myself by shifting my weight off my left foot to my right.

"Lynn, this is really serious. Just promise you will still be my best friend after this." I bit my lip. How could I resist his pleas?

I nodded and a piece of my red hair fell into my face. He took his other hand and put it slowly behind my ear. I closed my eyes and felt the warm touch of his fingers on my delicate skin. He let go of my shoulder and I opened my eyes wide and realized what was happening. I was about to see the true Nicholas. What was the true Nick though? The Nick I always knew or remembered was holding my hand as a child and running up a grassy hill behind my Father's home. He pulled the top off the box for real this time but I expected to see something much different. It was only two ladies' dresses, brown with age and stains. I watched intently as he threw them lazily onto the sand. I gazed into the crate, which glistened in the dark.

"No, no, no." I shook my head rapidly and backed away. "Nick, your going to be killed!" I tripped over a rock and clasped to the ground. I buried my face into my hands rejecting the tears that waited behind my lids.

Nick picked up the long gold necklaces with priceless germs embedded. Several crowns lay within the jewels. I recognized one as the lost crown of the English king.

"Nick! You should have told me!" I was sobbing now.

"I…I couldn't," he set down the elaborate necklaces and walked over and slid down the wall beside me. He put his arm around my shoulders and leaned his head on mine. "I just couldn't go back to you like that."

He rubbed my shoulder in a massages motion and put his rights hand on my upper arm. It felt almost awkward with him this close to me, but I needed the comfort, even if it was from a criminal. I couldn't think of him as a criminal though. He was always just as I knew him before and nothing else and that made me realize I should still treat him as my Nicholas.

I lifted my head out my hands and removed the evidence of my tears. He looked at me confused but all I could do was smile and nod my head.

"I don't get it. Why are you all of a sudden okay? I mean I expected you to be crushed for the next week!"

"What! Oh, you're going to pay!" I hit him playfully on the shoulder and laughed a bright smile.

"Well you bounce back fast! I'm glad, phew!" He wiped his brow and squeezed my shoulder.

"Yes, I realized something stupid like this is not worth our relationship, I mean friendship!" He blushed at what I said and looked up at the dark ceiling. I stared at his curly locks and perfect profile and slightly rosy cheeks that made him glow in the moonlight like spring's first flower, and wondered to myself how this pretty face could ever be a pirate. The silence was broken when he started talking soft, soothing words.

"I was only nine when my dad left me on the streets of London by the Thames. I carried no food and in my pockets was only a small wooden train I with you outside my home when we were six, remember?" I smiled and nodded.

"I also carried three shillings and my mother's locket." He touched the locket that hung loosely around his muscular neck and continued, "I took it out of my pocket and put it in both of my hands and stared at the picture for at least three hours. My bare feet were blistered from the snow so I sat on the stairs in front of a factory. I had no clue where to go or who to turn to for help. I wanted to be brave like any man would so I walked up and down the streets with my head up high to try to get nay attention." He smiled and chuckled to himself, but I only looked at him with sorrowful eyes.

"When nobody noticed me and it was getting dark, I walked into the nearest building that just happened to be a tavern. The smell of rum and sweat filled my lungs and a man with one blue eye and one brown grabbed my shoulder. He whispered something to his friends and they nodded in agreement to his words. They handed me a piece of stale bread and I ate it down within seconds. They watched as I licked the last crumbs off my fingers and the first man grabbed my hand and took me outside into the cold air. He asked 'How would you like to help us on our boat? It will be fun." After that I spent the my life, until I was sixteen, stealing young ladies, finding hidden treasures of the Aztecs, and watching my captain murder helpless victims. I regret it now when I think back to the days as a young pirate. You know I never once stopped thinking of you. I always wondered what had become of you and if I'd ever see you again. Now I'm here. With you, but…" He looked at me with scared eyes.

"Nick, what's wrong?" He looked like he might cry. He balled his hand into a fist and jammed in with all his strength into the sand.

He talked lower than a whisper that I thought he was actually just talking to himself, "They are coming for me." He wouldn't look at me.

"What? Nick I can't hear you."

"They are coming for me!" It was a sudden outburst that made my heart skip a beat. "Can't you see? I escaped piracy and went under the management of the India Trading Company. They are coming for _me _and nothing will stop them. They will get you too. I know it. You're too beautiful to just leave here. You can't be with me. I won't put you in that kind of danger. I want to be with you though. I want to _always _be with you. Ugh! Nothing will stop them. No, nothing will stop them, except me." His jaw clenched and he looked like he would hurt something. He stared opposite of himself at the black rock.

"Nick," I squeaked. I didn't know if what he said about me was true. His head dropped and he ran his long fingers through his brown hair. His hands trembled and I dared to stretch my fingers toward his face. I traced my fingers along his jaw and it unclenched and his fist loosened. It was red from the impact. He closed his pale eyelids as I brought my touch from his jaw to his neck and down to his open hand. It was warm from his anger. I traced circles and random shapes into his palm. He opened his eyes and tilted his head back onto the wall. I heard the distant sound of waves crashing from down the long winding cave that opens to the sea. I heard the familiar blow of a ship's horn in the night. I heard the sound of my own labored breath and his slow, recovering sighs. Then, there was silence.


	3. Chapter 3

"We can't go back out of here until morning because of the tide. We'll be swept out to sea. I don't think you want that do you?"

"No, but you clever pirates couldn't figure something out to have a way to get out of here in case of an attack?" We were playing dress-up with all the gold and jewels. He put a crown on his head and several rings. He looked hilarious.

"Hey, I'm not a pirate anymore! Please don't call me that. You can call me Lord Dugby though."

"Lord Dugby? That's pathetic! What kind of name is that?"

"A good name! That many people will look up to!" I was rolling on the floor with laughter. Grains of sand were sticking into my hair. I got my balance and stood onto my feet and walked clumsily over to Nick who was smiling and looking at different gems. He held up a small, long gold necklace with a pearl and emerald combination. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He held it up to me and reached his arms around my head and put it around my neck. It fell loosely into my dress. I picked it up and admired its beauty.

"Wow, Nick this is beautiful." I looked up and saw him looking at me with a smirk.

"What? Why are you smiling like that?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just looking at your face and how you admire that so much. You are just so beautiful."

"Nick, so are you, well as my friend of course. You've always been the guy girls die for." I stared at Nick, dazed by his words and mine even. I didn't know my own facial expression, but it was obvious to him I was in total shock. I grabbed the necklace as he brought his hand up over mine and grasped it so we were both holding it.

"This I did not steal."

He pulled me closer by pulling my hand and the necklace towards his chest. I was so close I could smell the sweat from his work and the dirt on his clothes and his slightly open mouth blew warm air onto my face. He looked up and down my face and opened my palm to reveal the necklace. I could only stare into his hazel eyes.

"I actually was given this by the emperor of India, believe it or not. He believed me to be a god of some sort. I didn't understand, and I still don't because he didn't speak much English. The only words he spoke that I understood were 'May the love of your life welcome your presence.' At the time I had no clue what to make of his words." He toyed the amulet back and forth in his hand. He seemed to be struggling for words. "Well… Now I know."

He looked into my eyes and brought his hand from my chest down my body to my hips. He pulled me even closer and pressed his warm lips against mine. I was in such shock I didn't know what to do. I loved Nick as a close friend. Then why was I enjoying this so much? I didn't have time to think. I closed my eyes and his mouth explored mine. When his tongue entered my mouth, I pushed him away by the shoulders quickly. I looked at him and took five paces away in disbelief. We both took long deep breaths.

"Nick, I…" 

"Lynn, I have wanted to tell you ever since we were children. Now we're almost adults and I can't stand it any longer!" He pulled his hair in a frustrated manner. "Lynn, you drive me crazy. I mean what's not to love about you? You are the strongest person I know and you always will be."

"Nick, I…I don't know what to say. I thought we were just best of friends." He dropped his head. "But you know what I realized?" He forced himself to look at me and I walked to him. I took his hand in mine and placed it against the necklace. I shivered with his touch. "I am the one who welcomes your presence." I smiled and it was noticeable he blushed through his pale white skin.


End file.
